Much thanks to all my readers, and super duper thanks to all my reviewers! Particular shout-out to Nazebaka for being my first faithful reviewer last chapter. :)
Disclaimer reminders: I own nothing, and I DO NOT condone torture or human rights violations. Just for the record. I do love me some shinobi though.
Shikamaru surveyed the activities going on around him. Kakashi had selected a campsite —a small clearing nestled against a cliff face to provide shelter and cover, several kilometers east of the location of the day's earlier battle. There was a river within about a 10 minute easy run from the spot, and now the group was almost finished settling in. It was early afternoon.
Since there was a possibility of staying put for a few days due to the hostages they'd taken and the need for intel before the team could decide on their next move, everyone was setting up camp as if that was the case. Kakashi and Genma had set up a perimeter with several layers of trap jutsus that would alert the group of any intruders, and now Sakura and Genma were setting up a dugout fire pit while Chouji was collecting firewood. Ino had gone to the river to refill the canteens. Kakashi was standing over the three captives they'd taken, and Shikamaru was by his side, ready to use his Shadow Imitation Jutsu to temporarily paralyze any of them who made any sudden or stealthy moves.
He studied each of the captives before him. There were three of them: one was the pretty receptionist that had greeted Kakashi's clone right before the springing of the trap; one was a bookish young woman in a lab coat; and the last was a shinobi, probably of no higher rank than chuunin by his boyish appearance, who had been escorting the scientist.
Two females and one male. That's going to be a different dynamic than what little experience I've had with…information gathering.
After Genma and Sakura had left the main battle to search for the researchers and any possible captives, they had gone directly upstairs and found the receptionist hiding under her desk, biting her lower lip with her eyes squeezed shut to keep herself silent. Sakura had quickly tied her up and demanded to know where everyone else was, and the woman had stuttered and blurted out that there was nobody in most of the building; there was only her boss up on the top floor in his office. The information was interspersed with several "please don't kill me" sobs.
They had bounded up to the office, Genma from the outside and Sakura up the stairwell, only to find an empty office that showed no signs of anybody being there recently. They'd shared a look and haphazardly searched the rest of the building (doing more running than actual searching) and found nobody, so they'd returned swiftly to the stairwell.
When they got to the point they entered, Genma had started to go back into the room, but Sakura caught him and punched through a completely invisible trap door at the very bottom of the staircase. (When Genma had glanced between her and the newly revealed hidden tunnel and asked how she'd known it was there, she grinned and shrugged as she lowered herself down. "Tsunade-shishou likes to break the ground. You learn to keep an eye out for the weak spots." He'd smirked and followed her into the darkness.)
In the tunnel, they'd seen much more evidence of people. The dirt floor, illuminated by occasional candles along the walls, was covered with footprints that looked more like those made by skittish civilians than by trained shinobi, and the air was still slightly scented like antiseptic and someone's too-strong perfume or cologne. The researchers, said the look that passed between them, and they'd moved ahead silently until they hear ever-so-faintly the sound of scuffing feet and fast, hushed conversations echoing from up ahead. They'd seen two forms, though, just before they reached the main group, one crouching and fumbling with something on his/her foot and the other standing upright and straining to see into the shadows, clutching a kunai as if to guard the distracted fumbler.
Genma and Sakura, having already both been in stealth mode, had crept even more stealthily. Genma had suddenly surprised the crouched figure from the other side (that is, the side farther from the tunnel's stairwell entrance), at the same instant that Sakura rushed the guard. In a matter of seconds, both were overpowered—the crouching fumbler more easily and Sakura's captive moreso by his duty to the scientist who was now Genma's hostage.
They'd decided against going any farther in the tunnel, mainly because they didn't know how many more shinobi would be with the main group and they both wanted to regroup with the rest of the team, so they'd gone back up to find the receptionist right where they'd left her. Sakura stood guard over the three of them while Genma went back to see if Kakashi, Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji needed any backup.
The battle had ended about 10 minutes later with 5 Konoha shinobi breathing hard and 25 foreign shinobi of various ages and skill levels littered around the large room. Kakashi was just beginning to look through the cabinets and boxes that had fallen onto the floor and Shikamaru was using his shadows to search 3 of the fallen enemies when the building had trembled, prompting Kakashi to abandon his search and issue a "get out!" order. Sakura carried two of the prisoners by their shirt collars and Chouji had carried one, and the 6 of them had regrouped in their original surveillance spot just as the basement walls collapsed, causing the building to implode.
The receptionist was still crying, but she was at least doing it quietly. The scientist's eyebrows were knit together and her eyes had a faraway worried look, as though she was thinking about her options and all the possible outcomes. The chuunin's jaw was clenched and he had a look of fearful determination in his eyes.
"Oi," Shikamaru muttered, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face, and 5 eyes snapped to look at him. (Well, 4 eyes snapped. Kakashi's single open eye lazily glanced over at him.) The receptionist didn't look at him; she just kept her eyes shut and tried to still her crying. "You're not too bright, are you?" he said to the scientist.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed at him.
Shikamaru chuckled through his scowl. "You're not supposed to make it so obvious you're planning your escape."
"As if I'd be doing anything else," she returned.
"You think you're the smartest out of the three of you?" he asked. He saw the chuunin glance at her uncomfortably from the corner of his eye.
She locked her eyes petulantly on a stone on the ground in front of her. "I didn't sign up for this," she muttered under her breath.
Ino arrived back in camp at that moment, and Kakashi signaled to her to join them. All three of the captives turned to look at her as she approached.
"How's your chakra level?" Kakashi asked her.
Ino blinked, studying the prisoners as she answered. "Low, but not depleted. I have enough for a couple of jutsus."
Kakashi's eye creased upwards cheerily. "Great. I only need one."
Ino nodded, and Kakashi went on. "I'd like you to use him," he pointed to the chuunin, "to search all three of them."
"Hai," Ino said, and the three captives glanced at each other. The receptionist started to cry a little more. "Shikamaru, watch over my body," she said, and Shikamaru stepped closer to her. She formed the seal for her mind transfer jutsu, and Shikamaru caught her around the waist and held her upright against his side just as her body would have collapsed.
The chuunin blinked and all fear vanished from his expression. "I'm here," he said. Kakashi stepped forward and untied the wires from the chuunin's wrists and legs, and the young man's body stood up with Ino at the helm. Like the other enemies that the team had battled at the building, he was wearing a uniform vest of a neutral gray color, unlike any of the hidden villages' uniforms Shikamaru was familiar with, with a dark gray long-sleeved shirt under it and dark gray pants that were secured at the ankle with lighter gray tape. There was no forehead protector, and the kunai pouch on his thigh had already been confiscated.
His hands started at his fuzzy brown hair, haphazardly raking his fingers through it before moving down and feeling his own neck, chest, stomach, arms, and what was accessible of his back. Along the way, several weapons and a few scrolls, exploding tags, and personal items were produced and tossed to the ground in front of him. Ino/the chuunin then backed up to Shikamaru, hands out to the side, and Shikamaru used his free hand to quickly pat down the young man's back. Then Ino directed the man's hands to search through his pants, to the embarrassment of the other two captives, but Ino didn't linger. She checked the waistband, then the areas where she wasn't used to having any additional baggage (but found nothing out of the ordinary), then the ankle wrappings, then the shoes. She found only a few small lock picks embedded in the wrappings, and they soon joined the pile on the ground.
"That's it," the chuunin reported, and Kakashi gestured for the scientist to stand up. Shikamaru lowered Ino's body to lie on the ground, then formed the seals for his shadow imitation jutsu to hold her in place. Only then did Kakashi undo her restraints, earning them all glares from her as Ino/the chuunin stepped toward her.
The same methodical process was repeated, starting quickly with her light brown hair and then examining her glasses and replacing them on her face, then her lab coat and her torso, front and back. Ino was thorough and methodical, but found only one kunai in the pocket of the woman's pants and a few filled syringes and a couple of empty ones (all with caps still on them) in her lab coat pockets.
Kakashi tied her back up before Shikamaru released the jutsu and the process began for the secretary. Her hair was dirty blonde with some reddish streaks running through it, and the woman probably never had a single hair out of place on a normal day, the lazy genius guessed as he watched Ino quickly muss her hair, though she didn't bother undoing the tight braid that hung to the woman's shoulders. She used the same thorough and methodical process that she had used on the scientist, and the result was similar: The only weapon the woman had was a single kunai tucked into the waistband of her short skirt, probably given to everyone who was going to be in the vicinity of the battle rather than for any functional purpose, as neither woman seemed to have remembered to use their lone weapon when they could have.
Once all three prisoners were disarmed and tied up once more, Shikamaru and Ino both released their jutsus.
"Good work, Ino," Kakashi said, dismissing her to go back to the activities of setting up camp. He turned to Shikamaru. "How do you wanna play this?" the older jounin asked lightly.
We're talking about this right in front of them? I guess I'm supposed to be intimidating…hm. Or maybe it's just to seem confident, like it doesn't matter if they hear.
Shikamaru casually glanced over the three captives, evaluating what he could see of their personalities and (he hoped) making them feel like they were nothing but objects in his eyes –tools to use as he pleased.
"These two should be separated," he said after a moment, and the chuunin's eyes darted to the scientist.
Kakashi nodded. "I agree." Then, abruptly, he was behind the chuunin and pulling him up by the collar, and he escorted him none too gently to a stump much closer to the center of camp. He checked the ropes, instructed the other team members to keep an eye on him, and returned to the other two prisoners and Shikamaru.
He looked expectantly for what the younger genius would say next, and Shikamaru deliberated between the two women sitting before him- one refusing to meet his eyes out of contempt or annoyance at her situation, the other unable to meet his eyes because she was obviously trying not to cry again out of fear.
"That one," Shikamaru said, tilting his head toward the receptionist. She seems like the easier mark so far, though either one of them could be acting. Those tears are real, though, and as the receptionist she may know more about the military strategy side of things if she knows anything at all. The other one…she seems too troublesome to bother with yet. Not that I want to make this other one cry any more…geez. Why'd they have to be women?
Kakashi nodded, flicked his kunai between her ankles to allow her to walk, and grabbed the back of her collar to force her to stand, much as he had the chuunin. She tried to stifle her sobs and wobbled unsteadily, and once she seemed to have her balance, Kakashi gave her a light shove in the direction of the river.
"Move," he said, and she forced her legs to move in the direction he indicated. Shikamaru followed behind him, glancing to the other team members to make sure they saw the trio leaving and would babysit the other two. Genma nodded to him, acknowledging the request.
Once the three of them reached the river, Kakashi guided the woman to a large piece of driftwood and plunked her down on it with a hand on her shoulder. He then quickly tied her hands, which were already tied behind her back, to each end of the log so that she couldn't go anywhere. He also tied her legs back together, since she wouldn't be needing to walk again for a while.
Finally he stepped back to stand beside Shikamaru, both of them surveying his work. The wide river behind her ensured that nobody could sneak up on them from that direction, and while there was some brush at different locations along the riverbank, mostly it was made up of small rocks and pebbles. It's a miracle she didn't break her ankle walking here with those office high heels.
She had mostly stopped crying by now, the anticipation being scarier than the actual event apparently, and she now seemed uncertain where she was supposed to look. Shikamaru looked to Kakashi, and Kakashi gestured with a glance for him to go ahead.
Shikamaru frowned. This is not for a card, he reminded himself; this is for real intel about a real attack that would have put my team and possibly all of Konoha in a lot of danger. He stood for several seconds just staring at the puffy-eyed but otherwise pretty receptionist, noting her hunched shoulders, low-cut blouse, long tan legs and shaking knees. No matter how he tried to convince himself that he had to do this, it didn't make him like the idea of hurting a civilian woman any more than he had before. His stomach tightened. Well, at least I can start out easy. If she's already so terrified, she may cooperate without any more convincing.
Finally, he dropped his arms from where he'd had them crossed over his chest and stepped forward to stand within a couple of paces of the receptionist. She looked up with an expression that seemed to expect to be hit. The knot in Shikamaru's stomach squeezed a bit tighter.
"What's your name?" he asked flatly. He didn't have to start out being a dick, but he couldn't show any softness either.
"S-Sano Namiyo," she said quietly.
"Who do you work for?"
"I work for a merchant in the city near… near where we were."
Shikamaru let his incredulity show in his face. "A merchant?"
She clenched her eyes shut and nodded, shrinking back at his tone. He rolled his eyes.
"What's your connection to the people that attacked us?"
"I don't know," she whispered. She sounded like she was on the verge of crying again.
Shikamaru took a deep, annoyed-sounding breath and let it out. "How did you end up in that building as the receptionist?"
"They just…came," she said. "A couple of days ago. I was in the office, and this heavy guy in a suit came in with my boss, and my boss told me he was loaning me to his colleague for a couple of days to help while they were short-staffed. So they brought me to the building and I've been the receptionist there for a day and a half! That's it." She begged with her eyes for him to believe her. "Please don't kill me. I don't even know who these people are!"
Shikamaru turned this information over in his mind. The story made sense, except for a few small details. Why weren't there any footprints outside the building if she was a normal civilian? And the heavy guy in a suit…could that be the contact that led Kakashi's clone into the building when we first arrived? Then why wouldn't she have recognized him when they went in? And who did she think she was being a receptionist for if the main boss's office was empty the whole time?
"How did you go into the building?"
Confusion swept over her face. "What?"
"Did you use the front door?" Shikamaru asked.
She nodded, looking less than certain. "I…yes? I'm pretty sure we did…"
Shikamaru raised one eyebrow and glanced back at Kakashi, who met his gaze. When both looked back at the prisoner, she was looking between the two of them. "Didn't we?"
"Namiyo-san, nobody had walked up those front steps in a long time before today," Shikamaru informed her, and her eyes went wide. "So I'll ask again. How did you go into the building?"
"I…I remember going up them!" she breathed, almost to herself. Her forehead crinkled and her eyes lost focus. "How could I remember it if it didn't happen?" She jerked herself back to the present. "What did they do to me? Why do I remember going up the steps if what you say is true?" she asked in a high, panicked voice.
Shikamaru felt a knot in his throat join the knot in his stomach, but he gave no outward sign of reaction. "Who did you think you were being the receptionist for?" he asked.
"Mase Katsuhiko," she said, her thoughts still obviously elsewhere. "I don't…I never saw him. Only heard his voice over the radio."
"Did he have any other visitors?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Then what was that list you looked at with all the names on it?"
She blinked and finally focused her eyes back on Shikamaru. "He…it was a list of approved names. People that were allowed to visit him. Anyone not on the list, I was supposed to call security."
"Ah, and who was security?"
She shrugged. "The guys in the grey uniforms. They were all over the lobby."
The enemy shinobi, she means. Interesting cover. "Were there any other visitors? Other than the security men?"
"Not for Mase-sama. I only saw some people in lab coats pass through the lobby occasionally."
"I see," Shikamaru said. "Who was the man that came to recruit you? What was his name?"
"He said it was Itoh Shunko," she said after a moment of thinking. "I never saw him again after that, though."
"Was he the same man you saw today with my teammate here?" He gestured to Kakashi with a nod, but didn't take his eyes off the woman.
Confusion clouded her eyes once again. "I…" she started, but trailed off. She shook her head vigorously and studied Kakashi again as if his appearance would jog her memory. "I can't remember," she whispered. "I can't remember what Shunko looked like. Why would I forget that? How could I remember him but not remember if it was him?" She turned pleading eyes to Shikamaru. "Please help me," she said, her voice cracking.
Shikamaru turned his back to her and walked over to stand in whispering distance of Kakashi. "I don't think she knows anything," he said too softly for her to hear.
"Hn," Kakashi said, eye still glued to her. "What's your next move then?"
Shikamaru looked to the treetops above him and sighed. "I guess…I guess it's time to see what the other two know."
"Together?"
"Do you think that'll work?"
Kakashi made a gesture with his shoulders that was almost big enough to be called a shrug. "It might."
"But?"
"No but. That shinobi seems pretty protective and nervous, and the scientist seems arrogant. You can try playing them off each other."
Shikamaru nodded slowly and stepped back from the Copy Nin. "Then I guess it's back to camp for Namiyo-chan here," he said more loudly. "For now, at least."
The woman finally started weeping again, this time in what seemed like relief and possibly a bit of self-pity, as Kakashi moved to untie her yet again.
Ok, so this is a slightly shorter chapter, but I wanted to go on and get it posted. :) I have big plans for coming chapters, and I've got several partial chapters already written. So, hypothetically, you know, I might be able to post sooner than 2 weeks (like maybe even within a few days?) if enough reviewers tell me they'd like that to happen... ;)
Coming in future chapters: Injured team members, Shikamaru under interrogation (eventually), and glimpses into Genma's psyche (you know, since we're already getting into Shikamaru's head quite a bit, and Kakashi's just kind of awesome to try to figure out from the outside). Not in that order though.
Also, I'm working on a couple of one-shots that will probably be added to my "Team 7 Moments" collection pretty soon; keep an eye out for that if you like that kind of thing. (Shameless plug for my own fics...oops.)
Have a lovely weekend, and leave me a review!